No surrogacy for foreigners: tough new rules planned

New Delhi (Abantika Ghosh/India Express) : The directorate general of health services (DGHS) has proposed that the option of surrogacy should be available only to married, infertile couples of Indian origin.
The suggestions forwarded by DGHS Dr Jagdish Prasad to the department of health research rule out surrogacy options for foreigners, unless they are married to a person of Indian origin. The suggestions also say that a woman may become a surrogate mother only once in her lifetime.
The health ministry, which is engaged in a tussle with the Planning Commission on NGO consultations over a law to regulate the "infertility" industry, has circulated a cabinet note on the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Bill. The DGHS is an arm of the ministry.

Surrogacy cases on the rise in India

Mumbai (India.com) : A new report suggests that cases of surrogacy or ‘wombs for hire’ have increased in the past five years.  The research, published in The Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, reveals there is an increasing demand in the number of couples registering children to foreign surrogates.
 ‘Parental orders’ were granted following surrogacy to transfer the child from the surrogate mother to the commissioning parents, The Independent reported. This process, driven particularly by Indian agencies, has risen from 47 times in 2007 and 133 in 2011, the study said. But the real figures are believed to be much higher, and experts have warned of the increasing exploitation of women living in poverty who undergo the pregnancies to raise money.
 According to the study, women rent their wombs for about USD 16,000 to USD 32,000. Commercial surrogacy is permitted in the US and in many other countries including India, where it was legalised in 2002. But it is banned in Britain and only expenses may be paid making it difficult for UK couples where neither partner is able to bear children to find women prepared to volunteer for the role.
‘We have clinicians in this country who have links with overseas clinics. That was stopped with international adoption years ago. I don`t think the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has been strong enough on this,’ Marilyn Crawshaw, author of the research and senior lecturer at the University of York, said.
‘There is concern about child trafficking. The World Health Organisation held a meeting on this. Parents desperate to have children will pay thousands of pounds to foreign agencies to arrange the birth of their child. Natalie Gamble, a lawyer specialising in surrogacy cases, said important regulations were in place to protect children at risk from international trafficking, but there were no safeguards in place for overseas surrogacy.
The practise follows a decline in international adoptions, which has plummeted to its lowest point in 15 years.

‘Surrogacy visa’ for foreigners visiting India

Dubai (Xpress-Sharmila Dhal, ) : Foreigners visiting India for surrogacy purposes can only travel on medical visas, the Indian Consulate has said.

“We have so far not received any applications in this category,” a spokesperson told XPRESS, but added that foreign nationals living in the UAE can apply for surrogacy visas to India, provided they fulfill other conditions.

Surrogacy is a form of assisted reproductive treatment (ART) in which a woman conceives and carries a child for another couple and then surrenders the newborn child to them.

Every year, an estimated 25,000 children are said to be born to surrogate mothers who rent their wombs in India. Over half of them are commissioned by infertile western couples.

The Indian Consulate said tourist visas are issued to foreign couples for reconnaissance trips as they must produce a duly notarised agreement between them and the prospective Indian surrogate mother when they apply for the surrogacy visa, but no samples can be given to any clinic during the preliminary visit.

Subsequently, it should take a few days before the medical visa is issued. “Subject to all required documents and mandatory clearances, it should take five-six working days,” a spokesperson said.

There are many conditions to be fulfilled by the applicants.  
The foreign couple must have been married for at least two years.

The spokesperson said those seeking a surrogacy visa to India must verify whether the law of his or her country permits surrogacy and will provide travel documents to the child to accompany the surrogate parents.

The treatment can be done only at registered ART clinics recognised by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Also before couples leave India, ‘exit’ permits must be be obtained testifying that the couple has taken full custody of the child and all liabilities towards the Indian surrogate mother have been fully discharged.